Search

Diamond Clean

I’m not exactly sure what age brushing your teeth becomes less of a chore cast on you by what felt like a tyrant parent, to just a simple fact of life we start accepting and stop resenting. It’s not like I enjoy it, it’s not like I hate it. I wake up, put toothpaste on the brush and get it done like a sleepy zombie as I undertake my basic tasks like checking my email or feeding the dogs. But, what if there was a third phase to our relationship with the toothbrush? Instead of shunning it or merely accepting it, we add it to our personal collection of talisman devices, like our smartphones and laptops we hold so dear. Can a toothbrush be just as important? Well, let’s find out.

I connected with Philips and they asked me plainly, “yo, want to try one of the coolest toothbrushes on the planet”? My honest thought was that I already had a toothbrush, and I buy them in packs of two from the drugstore or the dollar store. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? Well, they kind of said no and 48 hours later, the Philips SoniCare DiamondClean Smart was at my door. An electric toothbrush! For a tech geek, I was completely virgin to the life of the electric brusher. Somehow, I seemed to relate the idea to an escalator at the mall. Why bother using it when there’s a perfectly good set of stairs right there? Preconceptions aside, I unboxed and took the plunge.

Visually, this thing is a bad boy. There are four colours to choose from but I elected to go with the black to match my car. I’m kidding. Sort of. The design is remarkably minimal but in a brilliant way, not an underwhelming way. The first thing I noticed when I held it was its soft coating, made from a non-slip material with no grooves or special texture. Just an easy to grip, comfortable feeling. The brush heads pop on effortlessly and there’s two slightly recessed buttons, one to power on and off and the other to toggle between brushing modes.

Let’s get into the basics of usage. One of the most impressive features is its charging capability and its two different options. The first is a plastic stand that keeps the brush completely upright and the second, which is my preference, the metal charging base with the glass cup. Simply place the brush in the glass and boom, it lights up signalling the lithium battery is now at work. It even makes this subtle little sound like when you’re locking your car. You simply cannot make it any easier and the glass is quite sleek and heavy so it feels and looks as premium as the brush. I applaud Philips for not overlooking the daily storage part of the product. One of my other faves of its design is the travel case. It’s a really sleek design, perfectly hosting the unit and brush heads and even has charging capability through a port on the side. Absolutely perfect for short trips and vacations.

When you’re ready to brush, just one press of the button and it lights up. You’ll immediately notice there are different brushing modes are available to choose from:

1. Clean – The standard mode and is identical to the brushing mode found on all Sonicare models capable of brushing at 31,000 brush strokes/minute. It lasts for a two-minute duration. Clean mode is your toothbrush’s workhorse mode. At 31,000 brush strokes per minute, it removes plaque with superior efficiency in a two-minute program. The Clean mode is the base setting on every Sonicare toothbrush. If you’re going to stick to one mode, make it this one.

2. White – Alternates between the standard and pulsing vibrations. In White mode, your toothbrush works a bit harder to remove surface stains caused by things like coffee and tea. After the standard two-minute program is completed, you’ll get an extra forty seconds to focus on polishing your front teeth, so you get a healthy smile that really shines. It was a 2 minute and 40-second duration.

3. Gum Health – The Gum Health mode adds an extra minute and 20 seconds of reduced power brushing to the end of the standard two-minute program. Use it to gently massage your gums for a better circulation and ultimately better gum health. 3:20 length.

4. Deep Clean – Sometimes you just want your teeth to feel cleaner than clean. For those moments, there’s the Deep Clean mode. The unique motion of the brush head in this two-minute mode is more powerful than any other mode, making it the ideal choice for when you want to pay extra attention to trouble spots. The official word on the Philips website is that this mode lasts 3 minutes, but ours lasted an exact 120 seconds.

Public Service Announcement! Don’t turn on the brush before you get the brush head in your mouth or else you’ll be wiping toothpaste off your forehead.

Where the DiamondClean Smart really stands out is its app functionality. Essentially your toothbrush connects via Bluetooth to your smartphone, giving you personal coaching and a live view of your brushing. It tracks how much time you’re spending in each area, lets you know if you’re applying too much pressure and walks you through each tooth ensuring all are adequately clean. The app will tell you what you’ve missed, suggests rinsing and tongue brushing and then logs the data to show a brushing pattern. It’s pretty damn cool, obviously. Having something not just tell me but show me what I missed to do better the next time is really impressive and well, helpful.

In closing, this is definitely worth the investment. Whether you can find the time to monitor your brushing after each use or not, the quality is far superior. I didn’t actually need a screen to tell me when my teeth felt clean because the old fashioned look in the mirror and check it yourself did it for me. My teeth look and feel cleaner. The plaque removal is top notch and really does leave you licking your teeth after your brush they feel so polished. I read that it removes 10 times more plaque. It’s like doing one sit-up but getting the effects of 10.It’s easy to charge and maintain, easy to carry to the gym or office, and looks wicked on my counter. So, I guess I’m an electric toothbrush guy now…